The Yemeni Minister of Information, Hassan Al-Lawzi, said in an exclusive interview with Okaz on the eve of his visit to the Kingdom that a foreign power was behind infiltrators who have been fighting Saudi and Yemeni forces. “We know who is behind these rebels, and they occupy the seats of religious authority in Qom,” Al-Lawzi said. “We will provide the proof of their involvement and support at the appropriate time,” he said. The Yemeni minister arrives in the Kingdom Tuesday to meet his counterpart Abdul Aziz Khoja and discuss media coordination in the light of the current situation, as well as longer-term joint media and professional programs. Al-Lawzi said the media in both countries had a “great responsibility” in providing reliable information and standing up to the “terrorists and those who are behind them”. Al-Lawzi described his visit as an “important opportunity to deepen media relations and exchange ideas and strategic media plans on military updates and how to unify the media discourse”. “Everyone knows that the word is an important and effective weapon, and we have to handle news with clarity and transparency to ward off threats,” he said, and described the rebels as a threat to “the whole region”. Yemen's position is clear. We give our absolute support to all the measures taken by the Kingdom in defense of its territory and sovereignty and to drive out the rebels,” Al-Lawzi said. “These terrorists only know the language of strength.” Al-Lawzi said that the two countries did not interfere with each other's security, noting that the “security of one is the security of the other”, but said that the “renegades” had “overstepped the mark and forced the use of military strength”. He also revealed that there was coordination at a “high level” regarding the exchange of security information and also political consultation “concerning threats to the region”. According to Al-Lawzi, the rebels in Yemen had fortified themselves in civilian areas and were committing “acts of terrorism against them and other innocents”.
